BREXIT — THE DIPLOMATIC DASH BEGINS: David Cameron is in Brussels today for a hastily arranged working lunch with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Later, the British prime minister will meet Parliament President Martin Schulz, and then on Sunday he’ll host Donald Tusk for dinner at Downing Street. Officials in London say they’re not panicking as Cameron’s push to renegotiate Britain’s membership enters its final stages, but it’s touch-and-go. Juncker is ready to offer an “emergency brake” on migrant benefits, as POLITICO reported Wednesday and the Financial Times, the Guardian and the BBC reported last night. If they can nail down an agreement over the weekend, the expectation is that Tusk will circulate a draft text to European leaders Monday, ahead of the summit in Brussels on February 18-19. If they can’t, it could have a knock-on impact on the timing of the U.K. referendum.

— How it’s playing with the Euroskeptics: They’re far from satisfied with the emergency brake compromise. Arron Banks, co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign: “People watching the slow-motion disaster overtaking Europe don’t want an emergency brake on immigration, they want control of the steering wheel so we can avoid the car crash up ahead.”

FRIDAY’S OTHER BIG MEETING: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is in Berlin for lunch with Angela Merkel. There’s one thing on his mind: Renzi wants Italy to be allowed more flexibility on its finances as he tries to grapple with Europe’s highest debt burden (besides Greece). As Florian Eder, Jacopo Barigazzi and Matthew Karnitschnig report, Renzi has repeatedly lashed out at Germany and Europe recently. Merkel may grant Italy more wiggle-room in return for its support on the refugee crisis. http://politi.co/1nSuVhY

Happy Friday! Playbook is coming to you from London today. I’m Alex Spence, POLITICO’s European media correspondent. Ryan Heath is not feeling well, but we’re expecting him back and match fit next week. You can reach me at aspence@politico.eu for any complaints or other issues.

POLITICO #1 MOST-READ AMONG EU INFLUENCERS — POLL: Only nine months after our launch, POLITICO has topped a new survey of 249 EU notables, including MEPs and Commission officials, on their preferred news sources and social media channels. According to a press release from polling firm ComRes and public affairs firm Burson-Marsteller, “Half of Brussels influencers say they read POLITICO (52 percent) or the BBC (51 percent) at least once a week. Two in five say the same about EurActiv (42 percent) and the Financial Times (39 percent), three in ten about The Economist (30 percent), and one in five about EUobserver (22 percent).” Big thanks to our readers! Full results here: http://bit.ly/1OSCnCD

NATO — ‘WE DON’T SEEK A NEW COLD WAR:’ NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is keen to avoid a risky military flare-up with Moscow as tensions remain high in Ukraine and the Middle East, he told my colleague Joe Schatz in an interview. One way he’s aiming to do that: by drawing on German diplomacy. http://politi.co/1NDyn4W

—Stoltenberg published NATO’s 2015 annual report Thursday. Defense spending is “moving in the right direction” after years of cuts. Overall, members are still decreasing spending but the rate has slowed amid concerns about Russia and other security challenges. European members of the alliance decreased their defense budgets by 0.3 percent in 2015, compared to 0.9 percent the previous year. DW | REUTERS

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TAX — THE GOOGLE FALLOUT CONTINUES: There were several developments yesterday as the controversy about the technology giant’s deal with the U.K. government to pay £130 million in back-taxes continued, in Britain and Brussels. Half a dozen members of the European Parliament who sit on an influential tax committee told POLITICO they’re keen to summon Google to explain the settlement. Some MEPs also called on the European Commission to launch a probe into whether the deal violates state-aid rules. Margrethe Vestager told British radio she is prepared to examine the deal. http://politi.co/207fuE0

— Britain’s ‘Google tax’ did not apply: The Times of London claims today that none of the money Google has agreed to pay was as a result of George Osborne’s so-called “Google tax,” a much-ballyhooed levy the chancellor introduced last year to ensure that the taxpayer got a cut of profits that big American companies divert overseas, which everyone assumed was meant to apply to cases such as this. “Instead, officials are understood to have concluded that the company’s offshore arrangements were legitimate,” the Times reports. “Google expects the taxman to reach the same conclusion in future unless it radically changes its corporate structure, for instance by moving all its employees in Ireland to Spain. Experts said the HMRC decision would allow the company to move millions of pounds offshore without penalty.” http://thetim.es/1VuyC85

— The view from Silicon Valley: Europe’s leaders should point the finger at themselves rather than attacking Google and its peers, argues Michael Moritz, chairman of the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital (which invested in Google, Apple, PayPal and other tech giants), in a piece for the Financial Times. Moritz: “Instead of pursuing vendettas against Google and other U.S. success stories, EU politicians would be better advised trying to figure out why Europe has not given birth to more significant tech companies in the past 30 years… Few, if any, of the politicians hurling abuse at American companies seem to have considered that the same groups have furnished Europeans with scores of attractively priced goods… Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix and scores of other U.S. tech companies do well in Europe because they have invented things Europeans yearn for.” http://on.ft.com/1OTjkYK

— It’s the system: The Commission took an important step toward reforming the tax laws, presenting proposals that would close several loopholes favored by tax minimizers, including some tech firms. “Companies must pay their fair share of taxes, where their actual economic activity is taking place,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commission vice president in charge of the euro and social dialogue. http://politi.co/1lW4g2e.

MIGRATION — PRIVATE SECTOR IS TRYING TO FILL THE EU VOID: Here’s Ryan’s article on how the migration crisis has spurred corporate activism and individual charity not often seen in Europe. “From Brussels to Helsinki to the refugee camps of the Middle East, private-sector activists are pushing their own solutions to Europe’s migration crisis to address what they say is an urgent need to act quickly where the EU and national governments have failed.” http://politi.co/1nSxeBB

HEALTH — EMERGENCY MEETING ON ZIKA VIRUS: World Health Organization officials will meet in Geneva Monday to discuss measures to halt the spread of the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to birth defects. The virus, spreading through Latin America, is a threat of “alarming proportions,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said Thursday — up to 4 million people could be infected this year. Officials will decide whether to declare an international public emergency. http://bit.ly/1lYvVPY

— No need to panic: We can kill off the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus, argues the Economist. http://econ.st/1QwfOnS

— But hold on: Killing off mosquitoes may not be such a great idea, some scientists say. It could eradicate diseases but also have unintended negative consequences up and down the food chain. http://bbc.in/1QtTLOv

VEHICLE EMISSIONS: The European Commission plans to present a “political package” of proposals to country representatives on Friday in an effort to stop the European Parliament from killing new emissions standards for cars, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. http://politi.co/1PW7sTx

IRAN-FRANCE — ‘NEW CHAPTER’ BEGINS AFTER PARIS TALKS: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks with his French counterpart François Hollande Thursday. It’s the first time an Iranian leader has visited France in 17 years, and a first step toward closer ties between the countries after the lifting of Western sanctions against Tehran. Several big business deals were announced, including an oil deal involving Total and the sale by Airbus of 118 passenger jets, worth up to €30 billion. Iran vowed to cooperate on solutions to regional conflicts including the war in Syria. Rouhani refused to back Hollande’s calls for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to stand down, the Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, about 3,000 people protested in Paris against Iran’s human rights record. POLITICO | WSJ | Reuters

ROMANIA — CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN PAYS OFF: “On a list of unenviable jobs in Europe, leading the fight against corruption in Romania would be close to the top.” Carmen Paun reports on how the country’s justice minister has taken on the task. http://politi.co/1Sf23h5

SPAIN — A COUNTRY GLARES INTO ITS BLOODY PAST: Guy Hedgecoe writes on how a court case led to the opening of mass grave sites, and forced a fresh look at the Civil War. http://politi.co/1TqMCRQ

AWARDED: Aboubakr Bensaihi, one of the actors from the Brussels-based film “Black,” has been named “Molenbeek citizen of the year.” The award, aimed at praising initiatives that give a positive image to the neighborhood, was given to 10 people on Wednesday. “I feel like an ambassador for the neighborhood, especially for the younger generation,” Bensaihi, 19, said. http://bit.ly/23wXTVa

MORE POLITICO NEWS: Jim VandeHei, who co-founded POLITICO nearly 10 years ago, will leave his post as CEO later this year, he told staff yesterday in an email. “There is no greater challenge than trying to match in a new space the magic and success we pulled off here,” wrote VandeHei, who said he will start a new venture when he departs after the U.S. presidential election in November. Co-founder John Harris will take on an expanded role as POLITICO publisher and editor-in-chief. http://politi.co/1SmuR5i POLITICO founder and publisher Robert Allbritton also announced other changes to occur at the end of the year, including the departure of U.S. Playbook author Mike Allen and a new role for POLITICO editor Susan Glasser as director of editorial innovation. http://politi.co/1SMUtty

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